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Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Killer Weeds - Blog Tour Review + Giveaway

Killing Weeds by Joyce and Jim LaveneRating: 4 StarsSource: Blog Tour (Find Out More Here)Description: It's a lovely spring night when the phone rings and Peggy Lee discovers that her garden shop, The Potting Shed, has been vandalized. Soon things go from bad to worse when a woman is found who has been poisoned is connected to both Peggy's shop and her son Paul. Now Peggy must figure out what is going on in order to protect both her family and her livelihood. Genre: MysteryWhy I Picked This Book: I have read and very much enjoyed the Lavene's Missing Pieces series and couldn't wait to try another series by them. The timing is perfect for a gardening mystery as I'm currently getting my own garden in the ground!My Impression: I let a sigh of satisfaction when I finished this one! The mystery was interesting and full of twists and turns, the characters were likable without being too perfect, and I'm not sure there's a more perfect time to read a book that centers around gardening! When it comes to cozies I always want to know why this person is investigating and in this case there are several reasons. Peggy is actually a forensic botanist who works part time with the police, her son is a police officer, her daughter-in-law works for the medical examiner's office, her late husband was a police officer, and her 2nd husband is an FBI agent. Add in the fact that it was her shop that was attacked and it wouldn't seem real if Peggy WASN'T investigating!

The pace of the story was fantastic and never let up and while this is the 8th book in the series I had no problem immediately understanding who was who and what was going on even though there was a fairly large cast. I loved that each chapter started out with a little tidbit about a different plant - everything from rhododendrons to Mock Orange and a whole host of other plants. I found the everything about forensic botany absolutely fascinating. The main and very minor flaw I had was I thought the police were a tad too belligerent but that's a purely personal preference. I didn't read this book in one sitting though I would have gladly done so but my pesky family kept insisting about things like dinner. If you're looking for an interesting, well written cozy and enjoy anything involving gardening this is not a book to miss!

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Definitely! I have loved the Missing Pieces series and am looking forward to reading the next one next month as well as catching up on this series.

32 comments:

That dog on the cover. Haha! I wish I was him right now...Sounds perfect for a spring read. I don't like gardening myself(you're probably asking yourself what I do like. Lol). But anything that puts you in the spring/summer spirit is alright in my books. Glad you enjoyed yourself another mystery. :)Happy reading!Brittany @ This is the Story of My(Reading) Life

This sounds like a fun cozy. I'm not much for gardening, but I think I'd like this book!

I thought of you yesterday as I was reading my current book. Not because I think you'd like it (I'm still on the fence about it myself--although it is compelling), but because I'm not sure I buy the reason the main character decided not to call the police and is investigating a possible murder on her own. I guess I can follow her logic to some extent, but, well, I will have to wait and see how it unfolds before I can say for sure. Something like that can bother me too.

This writing team is good; I should read more of their books! And the plant/forensic botany details sound fascinating.

Also, "my pesky family kept insisting about things like dinner" made me laugh. I know the feeling well! It's a mark of a good book when you hate being dragged away from it even for the people you love.